


Retribution Tastes So (Bitter)sweet

by orphan_account



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, F/F, Hurt No Comfort, idiot fall maiden fucking dies, neo be like (cryingcat.jpeg)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 12:10:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20657039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Her last mistake was trusting Neo.





	Retribution Tastes So (Bitter)sweet

Cold. It was so unbelievably _cold_.

Cinder laid on the ground, curled up in a fetal position. Her dimming orange eyes looked up at her attacker.

_Neopolitan_.

Neo, the enigmatic assassin she had allied herself with.

Neo, who she had somehow fallen in love with.

_Neo, whose father she killed_.

She whispered her name; it felt bittersweet on her lips. The other woman leaned down and cupped her cheek in her hand. To Cinder's surprise, there were tears streaking down her pale face.

"I’m sorry," she was mouthing. Or was she speaking? Cinder couldn't hear, anyways; her ears were ringing so damn loud.

"Don’t be," muttered Cinder. She thought back to everything she did, every tragedy she caused.

_Amber, who only ever wanted to help a child, killed in Cinder's selfish quest for power._

_Penny Polendina, the cheerful robot girl who only ever wanted to be with her friends. Cinder orchestrated her death._

_Pyrrha Nikos, the hero of Beacon who agreed to obtain the Fall Maiden's powers, not sure what it would do to her. She entered a fight she knew she couldn't win in an attempt to save her peers. Cinder shot her point blank._

_Roman Torchwick, arguably the least innocent of her victims, Vale's most successful crime boss. Cinder had manipulated him to her side, despite falling for his daughter, and her failure to control one Grimm just one time got him killed._

_Everyone else who died at the Fall of Beacon, who died because of Cinder._

_Emerald and Mercury, whose lives she ruined._

_Yes, _she thought as her hands loosened around the gaping hole in her stomach where Neo had stabbed her, _I deserve this._

Her senses were getting duller and duller; everything was so, so blurry. But she could still feel herself being gently lifted.

Neo was cradling her in her arms, crying, and it didn’t make even a little sense. Cinder killed her father. She _destroyed_ her. She'd have half a mind to leave her and let her die alone.

But, as pathetic as it felt, she wasn’t complaining. She wrapped her arms around her neck as best she could, what with her dwindling strength.

Strength, power, it all felt so trivial now. As corny as it was, she wondered if her feelings for Neo were the same kind of feelings that drove people like her to the "good" side.

Cinder didn’t feel like she was going to make it to the good side, though.

She was getting so dizzy. The room was spinning and it was a struggle to stay awake. All she could focus on was Neo - Neo, with her long, soft hair and her lovely heterochromatic eyes, now filled with tears. They'd been close before, before the Fall of Beacon, before Roman's death. She was really the only person in Cinder's ragtag group of villains that she felt she could trust. She would say she didn't know where they went wrong, but she knew exactly where.

"I love you," came a voice, and for a minute Cinder wondered if her mute ally_ (no you idiot former ally you ruined her and she hates you)_ had just spoken. Then she realized the voice was hers, and then she felt lips on her own. They were soft and tasted sweet, but the metallic tang of blood tarnished the kiss, turning what should have been a beautiful moment for any couple _(couple?)_ into something so painful and bitter.

And, just as suddenly as it had started, it had stopped. Cinder's arms went limp. Her eyes had shut for the last time.

Neo only held on tighter, sobbing harder. _Shouldn’t she be excited? Shouldn’t she be happy?_ This woman had wronged her, had gotten Roman killed. She came all this way just to kill her. _Shouldn’t she be celebrating?_ But no, all she felt was remorse.

She could feel power, unfathomable power, flow into her body. Her eyes began to glow and she felt a sort of euphoria that she’s never felt before. But still, did it matter? The woman she loved _(but never should have)_ was dead.

And so she’s alone once again.

__

**Author's Note:**

> hi guys!! i’m so fucking sorry
> 
> edit: changed the ending a bit bc i’m booboo the fool and i didn’t remember how maiden powers work.......when you try your best but you don’t succeed...........


End file.
